Holidays in Provence : V. ursinii and almost nothing else

[Jürgen Gebhart]

... Made me think of Jürgen's Ticino adventures - 5 hours driving in the late night, to arrive at first light, but with the sun came also the wind

Welcome

Last year in July I found two in the morning and there was a very strong cold wind! Temperatures around 8 Degrees.

[Stéphane Aubry]

Nice report!
5 hours driving in the late night, to arrive at first light, but with the sun came also the wind

Yes I spend many hours in my car to go to the ursinii's station in May and July-August... The road from Switzerland to France (where I sleep) and to the station about 32 hours now ! And about 32 hours in the field too for 4 animals !

And I will go back in two weeks

It seems that V. ursinii is less sensible with the wind that other snakes...

[Christoph Stenger]

Nice report!

I tried another spot in July (which is more beautiful, but soooo much suitable habitat) - no luck for me... Made me think of Jürgen's Ticino adventures - 5 hours driving in the late night, to arrive at first light, but with the sun came also the wind

Nice finds!
I kow exactly what you are talking about whne you tell about long distance drives and no luck findung ursinii -. I´ve had that for the last 4 or 5 years...
Tried the "Baron-Spot" on Friday but no luck (not counting a disappearing snake´s tail - probably viridiflavus). Guess it was just too warm (air temp was 21 degrees at 10 a.m. but the sun was burning hot). Tried another ursinii-spot a little more to the east but also no luck. Tomorrow I´ll try a spot "nearby" our holiday home (100 km). Weather seems good - cloudy today, sun tomorrow.

Cheers

Christoph

[Stéphane Aubry]

Thanks for the informations Christoph !

And let us know if you are more lucky tomorrow (I hope so...)

[Stéphane Aubry]

Here are some pics of 7 individuals I took during my 3 days trip in the study area of V. ursinii last week.

juvenile female from 2011

close-up of the same individual

close-up of a 8 years old female

more pics of these two vipers on http://www.pbase.com/stephaubry/vipera_ursinii_220812

a 6 years old female

same female

a 5 years old male, that was my 1st V. ursinii in May 2012 ;-)

same male

adult female in situ

the same, always in situ

a 14 years old female, one of the 2 ind. I was happy to observe during one hour and a half early August !

close up of the old female

more pics of these 4 individuals on http://www.pbase.com/stephaubry/vipera_ursinii_230812

a 3 years old female, in situ, during the last morning...

more pics of this female on http://www.pbase.com/stephaubry/vipera_ursinii_240812

[Bobby Bok]

Great captures of an even more beautiful animal!

[Guillaume Gomard]

Hi Stéphane,

Splendid animals... Do you know how many individuals are recorded in this particular area? Is there any snake born in 2012?

Thanks for sharing those pics

Guillaume

[Stéphane Aubry]

Do you know how many individuals are recorded in this particular area?

It's not clear but at least 50 individuals in the study area...

there any snake born in 2012?

not yet, they have to born in the next few days...

Bobby and Guillaume, thanks for your comments

[Mario Schweiger]

Very nice pictures of these little creatures
I love this area.
Yes, now (August-September) its the right time to see them again, after most have been gone in late spring and early summer.
Because now the meadows are full with food (grasshoppers).
Thanks for sharing

Mario

[Christoph Stenger]

Thanks for sharing! Nice finds!

Thanks for the informations Christoph !

And let us know if you are more lucky tomorrow (I hope so...)

Just to give an update: no success - too hot.

Have to try again next year...